Kristin Samuelson

Height: 160 cm

A New Yorker from the Midwest, Kristin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and now resides part time in New Orleans. But her heart lives in Manhattan, her home for 22 years. Kr ...Show More

A New Yorker from the Midwest, Kristin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and now resides part time in New Orleans. But her heart lives in Manhattan, her home for 22 years. Kristin's roles are often "difficult" women: strong, aloof, obnoxious, quirky, but unforgettable characters. She admits this might stem from her childhood, when she was notorious for beating up boys on the playground using a patent leather purse filled with rocks. Prim and ladylike on the outside, powerful and rugged on the inside describes her style.Brought up in a proper, Jane Austen-esque household, she was forbidden to act and was taught instead to do all the things nice girls do, like play piano and cook. So Kristin channeled her repressed thespian talents into singing and soon discovered opera: the perfect combination of singing, linguistics and acting.She attended Boston's New England Conservatory and received a Master's degree in voice. After singing as soprano soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and in Italy with conductor/composer Hans Werner Henze, she decided to move to New York. She toured with the National Opera Company, playing Susanna and Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, and performed with various other opera companies. Also friendly with many composers, she collaborated frequently with them on their creations. She formed the acclaimed chamber group, American Voices, which premiered new works, as well as highlighted chamber pieces by Americans. Throughout her singing career, Kristin loved the acting part of performing and was frequently commended by directors for being "a singer who knew how to act."On a personal level, after Kristin moved to NYC, she married and had a daughter. When the marriage dissolved, Kristin entered the world of academia and earned a doctorate from Columbia University. Though she found teaching and directing rewarding, Kristin always felt compelled to perform. When her daughter graduated from high school, Kristin decided it was time to parlay her performing talents into an acting career.She started out in Orlando, Fla., and her leap of faith was rewarded almost immediately. Encouraged, she relocated to New Orleans, where the booming Louisiana film industry has rewarded her with roles on TNT's Memphis Beat and Discovery Channel's Unusual Suspects. She has performed alongside Lance Nichols in The Price of Flowers, Eric Roberts in Jake's Road, and in multiple other Independent films.Kristin shares her knowledge of the voice and experience as a singer by coaching actors, singers and business professionals at her studio, The Voice Doctor. Hide